WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- The Washington Wizards ended on a
winning note in a successful season -- by their standards.

Courtney Alexander scored 20 points and Tyrone Nesby added 18 as
the Wizards closed their season with a 116-112 victory over the
New York Knicks.

Bolstered by the return of Michael Jordan, the Wizards remained
in playoff contention for much of the season. Although knee
surgery ended the aging superstar's season, Washington (37-45)
still finished with an improvement of 18 wins despite the fact
that it will miss the playoffs for the fifth straight season.

"This is a great way to end the season," Washington coach Doug
Collins said. "It would have been a terrible taste to not be
able to finish that game off tonight. It's great for the guys to
finish the season on a good note."

Washington faced a 29-28 deficit after one quarter before
opening the second by outscoring New York, 22-6. Tyronn Lue's
3-pointer with 4:43 left in the first half provided a 50-35
advantage.

A 3-pointer by Latrell Sprewell with 2:16 remaining pulled New
York within 107-103. The Wizards then perhaps got a glimpse of
the future when Bobby Simmons scored off an assist from fellow
rookie Kwame Brown and that kept the Knicks at bay.

"I'm pretty much a player that can do anything the team needs,"
Simmons said. "I just want to play hard every time I am on the
court."

The game had none of the hype that surrounded the season opener
between the teams on October 30 at Madison Square Garden. That
game marked Jordan's return to the NBA and also took place the
same night as Game Three of the World Series in which the New
York Yankees were hosting Arizona.

Washington's youthful players showed plenty of energy as Simmons
scored a season-high 15 points and Brown had a double-double
with 10 and 11 rebounds. The Wizards' reserves finished with 53
points in comparison to 23 for New York.

Led By Brown, Washington dominated New York on the boards,
48-32. Popeye Jones had 11 points and nine rebounds while Etan
Thomas made all five shots for 11 points.

The Wizards went 22-19 at home, a 10-win improvement from last
season. The expectations will be high next season, especially if
Jordan returns.

"I am looking forward to him coming back next season," Alexander
said. "Michael's going to do what is best for Michael and we
are all for that."

Sprewell returned from a one-game suspension for missing a team
shootaround and led New York with 26 points. Allan Houston
scored 24 points for the Knicks, who still have one game left
against New Jersey on Wednesday.

"We got back into the game late, but if we had played the way we
did late in the game earlier in the game, it could've been a
different outcome," Sprewell said. "We lost the game early in
the first half when we were trading baskets and early in the
first quarter when we weren't getting stops. Their guys were
knocking down shots."

Clarence Weatherspoon had a double-double with 19 points and 11
rebounds while Howard Eisley scored 12 points and handed out
seven assists off the bench. Sprewell made five 3-pointers as
New York made 10-of-17.

Washington captured the season series with New York by winning
three of four games. It is just the second time in 15 seasons
that the Wizards have won the season series.